


The Worst of Messes

by MayDayGirl_Save_Our_Ships



Category: Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 1991), DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Gen, Mallard Family meets the Duck Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-03-09 05:32:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18910561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayDayGirl_Save_Our_Ships/pseuds/MayDayGirl_Save_Our_Ships
Summary: When the Duck triplets first met Gosalyn Mallard they weren’t sure what to think of her. The teachers called her a problem child, she was more than a little rough around the edges, and for a brief moment that day, they weren’t sure if she was going to help them or punch them. Her family was just as odd. Her father seemed constantly irritated at everyone, as if they weren’t worth his time, and the third member of her family was...Wait a minute... Launchpad?!?!A mashup of 2017 Ducktales and 1991 Darkwing.





	1. Alarm Clocks and Pancakes

**Author's Note:**

> I love what this new series is doing with Darkwing but I really wanted to write a fic where the modern Ducktales meets the original Gos and Darkwing. I will be ignoring a few things from canon, so for this fic, LP lives in St Canard and Della hasn’t come back yet.

“Gosalyn, it’s time to get up, sweetie.”

Gosalyn barely registered her father’s voice through the haze of sleep. She buried her face deeper into her pillow, trying to shut out the wold. She was soft and warm in her bed, and she never wanted to leave.

She didn’t remember when she drifted off to sleep again, or how long she remained asleep for, when her father’s voice broke through her peaceful slumber once again

“Gos, it’s time to get up. You’re going to be late for school.”

She winced as her father opened the curtains above her bed and sunlight mercilessly pelted her sensitive eyes. She pulled the blankets over her head to block out the light and groaned in response. He gave her another warning, which her sleepy brain didn’t fully process, before he left her room again. 

When he left, Gosalyn peaked out of her blankets to glance at the clock on her nightstand. She didn’t know what he was so worried about, she still had plenty of time before school. She still had some time to sleep…. just five more minutes… 

The warm embrace of sleep consumed her once again.

“Gos,” her father’s annoyed voice called from the doorway, waking her up for the third time. “You have to wake up. You don’t even have time for breakfast anymore.”

Eh, he sounded mad but he wasn’t panicking yet. She didn’t even need to eat breakfast anyway.  Just a few more minutes…

However, her father didn’t seem willing to give her a chance to drift back to sleep. 

“Alright, that’s it young lady, get up this minute or face the consequences!”

Gosalyn opened one eye to see her dad standing over her bed with his hands on his hips. Curious of what these consequences were, Gosalyn closed her eyes and pretended to go back to sleep. 

“Okay, you asked for it!” 

Gosalyn realized too late what he was going to do. 

She let out a squeal as her father mercilessly began tickling her ribs. She spasmed uncontrollably as she laughed. 

“Nooo! Daaad stop!”

“I warned you, Gos.” She could hear the grin in his voice as she tried to push her father’s hands away with one hand while attempting to protect her ribs with the other.

“Fine, fine!” she gasped. “I’m getting up!” 

The tickling stopped immediately and she glared up at her father who looked far too smug. 

“That wasn’t fair,” she said breathlessly as she tossed off her blanket, now fully awake.

“Who said life was fair?” her father asked. “Now come downstairs and eat your breakfast.”

“I thought you said there was no time left to eat breakfast?” She glanced at her clock. School would start in ten minutes. They didn’t even have enough time to drive to the school before the first bell rang. 

Her dad grinned. “I set your clock back half an hour. You normally don’t get up until the last minute, so I used that to my advantage.”

Gosalyn huffed. “Lying to your own daughter. I hope you’re happy with yourself!”

“I am,” he said simply as he kissed the top of her head. “Now come on, your pancakes are getting cold.”

After putting on a fresh set of clothes, Gosalyn made her way downstairs. She set her backpack by the kitchen table and took a seat. 

Her father was hunched over the newspaper, but his eyes only seemed to be glazing over the words. It was only then that she realized how tired he looked. 

“Long night, dad?” she asked as she poured syrup over her pancakes. 

Startled out of his daze, her father shook his head to clear it. “That’s putting it mildly,” he said with a yawn. “Two break-ins from regular criminal scum and then I had to deal with both the Liquidator and Megavolt, and those too are a rather…  _ shocking  _ combination.”

Gosalyn scoffed at the pun. “Weeeell… maybe I can help you out? I’ll come along tonight night and-”

“Tonight is a school night,” he said with a frown. “And besides, it’s hard enough to get you up in the morning even without you staying up all night with me chasing down bad guys.”

“Oh come on, Dad. You know I can help!”

“Darkwing doesn’t need your help. What he needs is his daughter to go through one week of school without getting called into the principal’s office.”

Gosalyn crossed her arms stubbornly. “It was just a small prank. It’s not my fault the principal doesn’t have a sense of humor.”

“Gos,” Drake warned, giving her an unamused look. “Small pranks don’t usually result in property damage.”

“I didn’t mean for that to happen!” Gosalyn protested. “Things just got… out of hand.”

“And whose fault is that, huh? Just… no more pranks. I’m too tired to deal with your principal today. That woman gives me a headache.”

“Okay… no trip to the principal’s office and I can go crime fighting with you tonight? Sounds like a deal!”

“No… no principal's office or else your grounded, young lady.”

“That’s not fair!”

Drake sighed. “No more arguing. Now finish your breakfast.” 

Gosalyn angrily stuffed another bite of pancake into her mouth. This wasn’t fair. She helped her dad out crime fighting loads of times! She was good at it and she saved his butt more times than she could count. Why was he always so stubborn about not letter her come along? 

Gosalyn glanced at the empty seat at the table. She wished Launchpad was here this morning. Maybe she could have gotten him on her side. Then again, that was a pretty big “maybe”. Launchpad didn’t like taking sides between her and her dad very often, and if he did, he was likely to agree with her dad. Not that her dad ever listened to anyone elses options if they contradicted his own. 

It didn’t matter anyway, because she probably wouldn’t see Launchpad until later in the evening unless there was a Darkwing Duck emergency. For as long as Gosalyn had known him, Launchpad had a side job as a chauffeur in Duckburg. She knew he worked as one of Scrooge McDuck’s chauffeurs and probably some other rich people as well… she wasn’t sure. Launchpad never said too much about his other job, and Gosalyn honestly couldn’t understand how he managed to find work as a driver with his...unique way of stopping, which often ended in a head-on collision. 

However, apparently one of his employers liked him, because for the past six months they started requesting Launchpad fly them long distances for business trips, which meant that sometimes Launchpad wouldn’t be back for days. Her dad hadn’t been happy about this, but the extra money Launchpad brought in from these trips shut him up pretty quick. However, Gosalyn wasn’t as easily placated. 

She didn’t like seeing one member of her family gone for so long, and she didn’t like the idea of Darkwing Duck fighting crime without any back up (which is exactly why her dad should allow her to come along more!). Plus, Launchpad would definitely crash during one of these extended trips, and what if he got stranded? When she brought this up, Launchpad had assured her that if this happened he could send an emergency broadcast to the Thunderquack, which had the ability of autopiloting to his location. However, this still didn’t seem like enough for Gosalyn. 

Gosylan stuffed another bite of pancake in her mouth as she wallowed in the unfairness of her situation. Annoyed at both her dad for treating her like a baby and at Launchpad’s other employer for keeping him away. 

After breakfast, Gosalyn finished getting ready, and miraculously, she and her dad left the house on time for once. 

The car ride to school was quiet as usual. Both Gos and her father weren’t morning people, and the fact that she was heading to another day at school didn’t make her mood any better. At least there was one upside about today.

Her school was doing an “After School Jamboree” with another school from Duckburg. After school, they were going to bus in kids from the Duckburg school to play games and compete for prizes. It’s supposed to keep kids active and teach them lessons about being a good sportsman or something. Most of the prizes were pretty dumb, like a free notebook or gift cards to bookstores, but it was the big prize for the winner of the bike race that Goslyn had her eyes on. One of the parents donated the newest off roading bike, the Yeti SB-20. It was the fasted mountain bike around, and Goslyn couldn’t wait to win it. 

Just the thought of winning the bike was enough to lift her mood. 

“I don’t get why you need to bring your bike to school just so that you can win a different bike,” her father grumbled as he looked up at the rearview mirror at Gosalyn’s bike in the back seat, it’s wheels up in the air. “That seems pointless.”

Gosalyn scoffed. “Dad, the Yeti is not just another bike. It’s the holy grail of bikes! I have to have it!”

“What’s wrong with the bike I bought you? I thought you liked it.” He tried to hide the hurt in his voice, but Goselyn noticed it right away.

“I do, dad!” she assured him hurriedly. “But the Yeti is like nothing else! It’s the fastest bike around and it’s perfect for off roading! You’ll see what I mean when I win it.”

Her dad made a tisking noise with his tongue and shook his head. “Don’t get cocky, Gos,” he warned. “You might think you’re the best at your school, but that Duckburg school might bring some competition.”

Goselyn scoffed. “Come on, dad, it’s me you’re talking about. No one is going to beat me.”

Her father raised and eyebrow at her. “Oh really now? When did you get such a big head?” he asked in amusement. 

“Well, I  _ AM _ your daughter.”

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

She gaped at him. “Seriously? If your head was any bigger, Honker would have studied it for his previous planetary project!”

“Very funny, Gos,” her father said sarcastically. “And nice alliteration by the way. I’m so proud.”

Gos groaned. “Great, it’s official, I hang around you way too much.”

Her dad chuckled as he pulled up to the school. They noticed Honker sitting by a tree at the front of the school reading a book. When he looked up, he looked surprised to see them here on time.  

“Have fun today, Gos. Don’t beat the other kids too badly. Leave them with some dignity.”

Goslyn grinned as she pulled her bike out of the back seat of the car. 

“No promises, dad.”


	2. Downhill From Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, the response to this fic has been so amazing so far! Thank you guys! I hope this fic will live up to your expectations!

“I know I’ve said this already, but I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Huey said as he eyed the rusty contraption that Dewey called his bike.

Dewey had just pulled his “new” bike off the front of the bus while his brothers watch dubiously. Huey was certain it would fall apart any second.

“You worry too much, Hue. I just need it to get me through the race,” Dewey said as he patted the dusty bike seat. “It’ll hold up until then.”

The school bus had dropped them off in the parking lot at the back of St. Canard Middle school. The school was bigger than the triplets expected it to be. Banners and balloons were strung haphazardly on the school buildings; one of the signs said “Welcome Duckburg Middle” and another said “After School Jamboree”. The paint on the signs still looked wet, as if the welcome committee had rushed to get them done right before the event.

The triplet watched as their fellow classmates from Duckburg wandered to the front of the school where the St. Canard students were participating in carnival games and getting ready to start the various competitions.

Huey tore his eyes away from the festivities and examined his brother’s bike closer. They had found the bike in Uncle Scrooge’s garage and they were pretty sure it had been Uncle Donald’s old bike from when he was a kid. The bike chain was rusty and the front frame was bent. However, the brakes and tires were new. Launchpad had been helping Dewey fix up the old bike, but because Launchpad always went home before six unless he was needed for an adventure, there hadn’t been able to complete the project in time.

“Didn’t Launchpad say that the bike wasn’t safe to ride yet?” Huey asked.

“So? Since when is Launchpad the expert on safety?” Dewey pointed out. “He wanted to give me crashing lessons as soon as the bike was fixed.”

“He has a point,” Louie said, getting out his cellphone and pointing the camera at his brother. “When you do crash, try and make it look good. If we get a viral video out of this, we can monetize it, and then we can all afford new bikes.”

Dewey glared at his brother. “I’m not going to crash. I’ll be the fastest, win the yeti, and be able to throw away this hunk of junk once and for all.” Dewey then turned to the ‘junk’ bike in panic and began stroking the seat. “Shhh, I was just kidding, baby, you’re not a piece of junk. You’re not, it’s okay.”

“Great… and now he’s talking to it,” Huey said with a frown. “That’s more than a little disturbing, I hope you know that.”

“All the other kids are going to have better bikes that don’t look like they pulled them out of a junkyard this morning” Louie said. “How are you going to compete with that?”

“It doesn’t matter how fancy their bikes are. I’ll win because I’m the best biker!”

Both his brothers gave him sceptic look.

“What?”

“You’re not a bad biker…” Heuy placated. “You’re better than us but-”

“Obviously,” Dewey interjected.

“BUT,” Huey stressed, annoyed. “Louie is right, you don’t really have an advantage. The only thing you have going for you is that you take risks and turn corners at speeds that most people with common sense wouldn’t. But everyone wants the Yeti. All the best bikers in our two schools will be competing and that includes eighth graders. They’re practically high schoolers!”

Dewey rolled his eyes. “The bigger they are the harder they fall. Besides, I would have thought that at least my _brothers_ would be supportive of me.”

“I would be more supportive if that bike wasn’t a disaster waiting to happen,” Huey pointed out. “You’re going to get yourself hurt.”

“It would be pretty awesome if you did win the Yeti though,” Louie said wistfully.

Despite his reservations about this whole event, Huey couldn’t help but agree. They used to have bikes of their own, but they were destroyed in a magic troll attack last month that may or may not have been their fault. In their defense, they didn’t know that magic staff was cursed and that the guardian troll would chase them down to get it back as soon as they activated it. Their bikes hadn’t been fast enough, but thankfully, Webby had been, and she managed to deactivate the staff just in time.

As far fetched as it seemed, and as short-sighted as it was for Dewey to ride that deathtrap into the race, Huey had to admit it would be cool if his brother did win. Statistically, it was unlikely, but well, their family had a way of turning the impossible into just another Thursday afternoon.

“Don’t worry, bros. Once I win I’ll give you all a turn,” Dewey assured them. “I’ll _obviously_ get priority, but I’m nothing if not generous.”

“So… we can count on what, five minutes tops before Dewey gets bored and insists on his bike back?” Louie joked.

“Wow, five whole minutes? That would be a record sharing time for him,” Huey added before he and Louie broke out into laughter.

Dewey crossed his arms. “Very funny. Just for that, I’ll be sharing my new bike with Webby first.”

* * *

After sitting through an hour of watching kids compete in the other games, such as ring toss, apple bobbing, and the three legged race, the final event, the big bike race, was announced.

“No one will blame you if you quit now,” Huey whispered as the triplets watched as the biggest kids in the entire school lead their polished racing bikes to the starting line.

There were fifteen kids competing in total, and they were all at least a head taller than Dewey. Dewey recognized a few eighth graders from his school, but the rest were obviously St. Canard students.

There was a reason why their uncle never moved them to St. Canard despite the cheaper rent. St. Canard was known for its gangs and high crime rates, and although most of the students in St. Canard Middle looked like regular kids, some of the St. Canard students participating in the race looked like they were auditioning as a member to said gangs, or at least, pretending like they were.

There were three St. Canard students that looked particularly nasty who claimed their place at the front of starting line. The largest was a german shepard who was elbowing anyone who dared stand too close to him. Next to him stood a smug looking falcon with a bike that was nearly as good as the Yeti. The third was goose who was definitely too old to be a Middle schooler. He must have been held back a year… or two. These three students seemed to be sizing up the competition and sneering at everyone except for each other.

Dewey had a feeling that these students didn’t usually participate in after school activities, and they were just there for the big prize, like he was. Some other students in the crowd had brought their bikes with the intent to participate in the race, but had now changed their mind after seeing the competition.

“I’m not quitting,” Dewey said through clenched teeth.

So what if these other kids had better bikes? So what if they were bigger and meaner? They weren’t Dewey Duck.

“Well, it was nice knowing you,” Louie said as he patted him on the back.

“So they’re big? That just means their weight will slow them down,” Dewey tried to reason.

“Not necessarily. With their muscles and stronger legs-”

“Save the science, Hubert,” Dewey cut him off. “I don’t want to hear it.”

Dewey let out a breath and began pushing his bike to the starting line. He paused when he saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye. A red-headed girl emerged from the crowd and wheeled her bike to an empty space at the front of the starting line, right next to the group of three mean-looking bikers. She was shorter than Dewey and perhaps even a little younger. Her red hair was pulled into messy pigtails, and although her clothes looked relatively clean, her legs were scuffed up with scabs and bruises.

She pulled her well-used, off-white bike up to a spot next to the german shepherd. The dog scowled down at her and looked ready to make a scathing comment, when he paused. He seemed to recognize her, and when the girl finally looked over in his direction, the dog gave her a curt nod.

She returned the gesture and fixed her eyes back on the road in front of her. She had a determined set to her beak and she looked completely unbothered standing next to the older bikers that towered over her.

Suddenly inspired by the younger girl’s confidence, Dewey started forward again.

“See, that girl has the right idea,” he called back to his brothers. “She’s not scared of going up against those bigger guys and neither am I! Come on Mildred, let’s go!”

“Great… and now he named it. Stop talking to it like a person! It’s just a bike!’” Huey called out after him.

As Dewey pushed his bike up to the starting line, he noticed he was getting far more nasty scowls than the red-headed girl had, especially from the three biggest bikers. He stops just behind the falcon, who sent him a scathing glare.

“You’re out of your league, shorty,” the falcon scoffed.

“That’s what you think!” Dewey shot back. He couldn’t wait to outrace all these jerks. Dewey might not be as big as these guys, and might be riding a bike that was almost complete garbage, but despite this, he knew he could _Dew_ -it (it was never a bad time to turn his name into a pun, especially when he was trying to distract himself from how nervous he felt).

One of teachers gave the instructions for the race. It was once around the block and the finish line would be back where they started at the front of the school.

“Okay racers,’’ a teacher said, holding up a white rag that was supposed to symbolize a flag. “On your marks, get set, go!”

They were off in a flurry of movement. To his dismay, Dewey’s bike was slower to get started than the other kid’s bikes. Dewey fell into last place almost instantaneously, but he was determined to not let this dictate the rest of the race.

Dewey pushed his feet to pedal faster. The bike felt heavier than his old one and his hands hurt from how tight he was gripping the handle bars. This wasn’t enough, he needed to be faster! When they rounded the first corner, Dewey was still last, but not by much. He was quickly gaining on the group of boys in front of him. However, the boys weren’t his only problem.

He had no idea how she did it, but the small, red-headed girl was in the lead. Two of the larger boys were right behind her, but it was impressive how much speed she managed to gain in just a few short moments. Even if Dewey could get past the other guys, he would still have to deal with her.

Dewey turned the next corner as fast and as sharp as he could; his bike tires skidding across the gravel before he gained back control. It was a risky move, but it had allowed him to make up the distance needed to pass two kids.

Dewey didn’t have a chance to celebrate his success. They were nearing the halfway mark soon and at this rate he was still going to lose. He needed some kind of advantage.

And then he saw it.

Orange construction signs loomed in the distance as he passed a “Road Work Ahead” sign to his left. Ahead of him, an arrow pointed down the street to the right with the word “Detour.” Orange cones blocked off the road ahead where a giant, yellow excavator had paused in it’s digging of a giant hole in the middle of the street. Signs directed pedestrians and cars to take a detour down the next street on the right.

This was it. This was his chance. The other racers would take the detour around the construction, while Dewey would continue straight through. The dirt pile in front of the hole made the perfect ramp as long as he had enough speed.

Yes it was dangerous, yes he could get hurt, but this was the only way he had a chance of winning the race, and it wasn’t technically against the rules.

Dewey’s determined grin grew as the bikers in front of him moved their bikes to the right in order to follow the detour sign.

However, his expression fell when he heard the bikers gasp and shout. One of the bikers seemed to have change her mind about taking the detour, and instead, she was heading straight for the construction site.

Dewey stared in disbelief as the red-headed girl picked up even more speed. She didn’t even hesitate as her wheels hit the dirt ramp, propelling her cleanly over the ditch. She landed on the road on the other side of the ditch, her back wheel first, hardly losing any speed as she continued down the road.

The other boys shouted in anger, some in amazement, as they were forced to take the longer detour down the second street.

Dewey clenched his beak and pedalled faster. He had to get up to her speed if he was going to make the jump. His wheels hit the dirt ramp, and for a short second, he was airborne. Only when he was at the apex of the jump did he realize that something was wrong.

He didn’t have enough height and the ground was coming up too fast. Dewey held his breath and braced for impact.

His back wheel hit the edge of the ditch and his heart clenched in his chest. Miraculously, his bike had enough momentum that his wheel propelled him forward. His front wheel hit next, and his feet almost slipped off the pedals. He let out a sharp intake of breath as he finally cleared the ditch.

He actually made it! If he had been going any slower he would have fallen back into the hole.

Pedalling as hard as he could to make up for the decrease in speed, his heart still in his throat, Dewey set his eyes on the biker in front of him. It was just him and the girl now. None of the boys behind him had dared try and make the jump.

Dewey’s breath became shorter as he pedalled his bike up a steady incline. Now that the girl thought she was far in the lead, she had decreased her speed in order to take the hill at a more manageable pace. This was Dewey’s chance to catch up with her. She didn’t notice he was behind her until they rounded the next corner. She must have heard him make the turn, because she looked over her shoulder in surprise.

“You made the jump?” she called back in astonishment.

“What? That little thing? It was easy!”

She grinned, her eyes gleaming, eager and mischievous. “Alright then, see if you can keep up with this!”

Dewey pedalled as hard as he could; the muscles in his legs burned and his feet felt heavy, but he wasn’t going to give up now! He was so close!

The incline began to flatten out at they came up on the last turn. He took the inside of the turn at top speed, nearly losing control of his bike as he did so.

She glanced over her shoulder at him as he came up on her left.

“Not bad, kid,” she commented. She didn’t sound the least bit worried about losing, and that only made Dewey want to beat her more.

They were at the final stretch of the race, which was all downhill. Dewey could finally see the finish line at the bottom in front of the school. Dewey leaned forward, hoping to pick up as much speed as possible on the way down. He felt himself push ahead, and soon he was neck and neck with the girl.

“You really should slow down,” the girl called over to him. “At this rate, you’ll make it to the finish line, but you won’t be able to stop in time.” She glanced at wall of bushes and the crowd of people that were coming up fast just beyond the finish line.

“Sure thing, as long as you slow down first,” Dewey called back.

“Not going to happen!” the girl countered. “I guess we’re going to crash.”

“Eh, that’s nothing new!”

The girl chuckled and he thought he saw her nod in agreement. “You definitely got guts! Not just anyone can come in second place to me!”

“Funny! I was just going to say the same to you!”

And then it happened. Dewey heard something snap underneath him as the bike chain broke. His bike wobbled and swerved, first left and then right, getting dangerously close to the girl’s bike.

“Hey! Watch it!” she shouted. “You need to break! You’re bike is falling apart!”

Dewey gripped his bike handlebars tighter in an effort to steady the bike. “Not a chance! I’m winning this!”

His bike swerved towards her again, and to avoid getting hit, she veered off further into the street.

Dewey’s out-of-control bike followed hers. It all happened so fast. A car was coming straight towards them, he clenched the breaks, nothing happened, the car swerved-

He screamed.

The car barely missed his back tire. Their bikes crossed to the other side of the street, the girl’s bike went up the driveway and into a grassy front yard where she was heading full speed into a tree.

He saw her bail out a moment before his bike missed the driveway and plowed tire-first into the curb. The momentum flipped Dewey up and over the front of the bike where he landed with a _whack!_

Everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lesson here is, if you’re going to let Launchpad fix your bike, let him finish fixing it before you crash it. 
> 
> Please comment and let me know what you think of this new chapter! This fic is about 80 percent planned out, so if you want to suggest that I put anything in it, now is your chance before I finalize everything.


	3. Problem Child

Someone was shaking him. He heard a female voice talking, but he couldn’t make out the words over the ringing in his ears.

Everything hurt; his back was throbbing, his leg twinged from where he landed on it wrong, and his head was pounding.

He cracked his eyes open and his vision swam. He blinked a few times and the world started to come into focus. He was lying on the hard ground staring up at sunshine coming through the leaves on the tree above.

The face of the red-headed girl he had been racing came into view. She was looking down at him in concern and shaking his shoulder.

“Hey kid, you okay? Kid?”

Dewey groaned. Was he okay? Everything hurt but... nothing felt broken. He remembered flipping over the front of his bike, and even though his head was rattled, he was pretty sure he missed it in the fall. He had somehow landed sprawled out on his back instead.

“I… think so,” he said as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He winced as his back twinged in pain. “I guess we both lost the race.”

This was apparently the wrong thing to say because the girl’s concerned expression twisted into an angry scowl as she stood up onto her feet. She was now towering over him, her hands on her hips.

“I _WOULD_ have won if you hadn’t knocked me into the street and almost got us hit by a car!”

“Dewey!”

“Dewey, are you okay?”

He heard two familiar voices shout.

Dewey looked up to see his brother’s running towards him. Not wanting to make them worry, Dewey climbed to his feet as they approached. He hid a grimace as his muscles ached from the movement.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he assured them.

When they reached him, Huey’s gaze swept him over as if to confirm that he was indeed alright. Louie grabbed his arm, not to steady him, but for Louie’s own assurance. Louie always got a bit clingy when he was worried.

“Are you okay? Did you hit your head?” Huey reached out to check his brother’s head, but Dewey took a defiant step back. He was never a fan of Huey fussing over him.

“Would you relax? I’m just going to have a bruise on my back, but I’m fine.”

Huey give him another once over, just to be sure. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay…” Huey said at last, once he seemed satisfied that Dewey wasn’t about to fall over again. “I told you that bike was a bad idea.”

Dewey rolled his eyes. He wasn’t in the mood for an ‘I told you so’.

Huey’s attention turned to the girl who was now facing away from them currently glaring down at her broken bike. The front wheel had smashed into the tree, which had completely bent the front tire frame. The girl had a cut above her right eye which was bleeding down the side of her face.

“Hey, are you okay?” Huey asked the girl in concern.

The girl whipped around angrily. “Do I look okay?” she growled. “My bike is totalled, I almost got killed, and worst of all, I didn’t get to finish the race!” She stalked towards the three boys, her eyes narrowing on Dewey. “And it’s all your fault!”

“Umm… not finishing the race was the worst out of those three?” Huey muttered to himself incredulously.

“Hey, it’s not like I wanted my bike chain to break!” Dewey defended.

“No, but you didn’t slow down once it did! Instead you kept going and ran us off the road!”

Dewey scoffed. “It’s not like you were going to win anyway. I totally had you beat!”

“What did you just say?”

Dewey’s eyes widened as the girl grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and jerked him forward threateningly. She didn’t raise her other fist, but she looked pissed enough to hit him. Dewey was just starting to realize from this girl’s fierce glare and unexpected strength, that maybe she wasn’t someone he should mess with.

“Whoa, hold on!” Huey shouted and suddenly his hand was on the girl’s fist that was clutching his shirt. “I know my brother messed up, but it was just a stupid mistake. Everyone’s fine, right? Let’s not make this worse!”

The girl’s furious green eyes continued to stare Dewey down. For a moment, he really thought she was going to hit him. Despite being shorter than him, she was obviously athletic, and could probably get a good punch in or two before his brothers managed to stop her.

Then, to his surprise, she took a deep breath and opened her hand, allowing fabric of his shirt fall away.

“Just… stay out of my way,” she grumbled before she stormed away, leaving her bike and the three boys behind.

“Gosalyn Mallard, what did you do?” An authoritarian voice called after the girl. The boys turned around to see that a teacher had run over to check to see if anyone had gotten hurt in the crash. Some curious kids had tagged along as well.

The girl, who was apparently named Gosalyn, turned around to glower at her audience. “Why are you blaming me? I didn’t do nothin’!”

“I saw you, young lady!” The teacher, a crane with perfectly manicured white feathers, scolded. “If you get into one more fight-”

“I wasn’t going to fight,” Gosalyn snapped. “If you want to blame someone, blame that kid!” She pointed in Dewey’s direction. ”He was the one that ruined the race. I’m outta of here!”

‘’Gosalyn, get back here!” the teacher called after her.

Unsurprisingly, Gosalyn ignored her and kept walking.

The teacher sighed. “That child…” she muttered under her breath. She turned to the three brothers. “Are you kids okay?”

Dewey nodded quickly. “Yeah, we're fine.”

The teacher frowned. “That was a really bad fall. You need to go to the nurse office.”

“No, that’s okay… I uh...” Dewey began as he tried to rack his brain for an excuse. As annoying as Huey’s fussing was, their Uncle Donald would be five times worse if he found out Dewey had been sent to see the school nurse.

“Laura, can you make sure they get to the nurse?” the teacher instructed a female student who stood next to her.

“Sure, Ms. Crane,” the girl agreed. The girl, Laura, was a female duck with grey feathers and dark hair who seemed to be about a year older than them.

Laura showed them the way to the nurse’s office. She didn’t make much conversation other than asking “you guys are from that Duckburg school, right? I hear you guys actually get new textbooks. Our school only gives us used books.”

They hadn't known what to say, so they just nodded.

Laura lead them to the front office where the school nurse was located. The nurse was a dog with tan fur and a tight smile. She examined Dewey’s back, and after determining there was no serious injury that required calling their guardian, she gave him an ice pack. Annoyingly, Laura hadn't left the nurses office and she seemed to revel in gossiping with the nurse about the details of the crash.

“Well, I’m just glad no one else was hurt,” the nurse said after Laura finished her retelling.

“Well, there was that other girl,” Huey said. “She got cut above her eye in the crash but it didn’t look like she came here. That wasn’t very smart. A cut like that could get infected.”

“Oh no, who was it?” The nurse asked. “I should really call her in so I can take a look at it.”

“It was Gosalyn Mallard,” Laura supplied. “She almost got into a fight with the blue kid after the crash. She was super pissed that she didn’t win.”

The nurses pursed her lips. “That girl…” The nurse sighed. “I’m not surprised she didn’t come to me. I don’t like to say this, but she’s the definition of a problem child.” she shook her head and then turned to Dewey as if she was re-examining him for injuries. “Did she hit anybody? That girl only gets one more chance before she’s suspended and I knew it would only be a matter of time.”

“No, uh... she just yelled at me,” Dewey admitted.

“Yeah, you got off lucky compared to what she did to Joey,” Laura said.

“Joey? Uhh… who’s Joey… and what did she do to him?” Dewey asked while nervously glancing out the window. “Not that I’m worried or anything.”

“She almost broke his beak!” Laura exclaimed. “He didn’t even do anything to her! She just got pissed at him one day and… pow! He stayed home for a week after that.”

“So…” Louie began slowly. “If she almost broke that kid Joey’s beak for nothing, then what do you think she would do to someone who was responsible for losing her chance at winning the big bike race?”

Laura gave Dewey a sympathetic look and he felt his heart beat a little faster. “Maybe you should get out of this school as soon as possible,” Laura suggested. “Just in case.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gos may have a bit of a bad reputation that isn’t exactly accurate. 
> 
> Next chapter they will really get to meet Gosalyn and discover how true the rumors really are. The next chapter is the reason I decided to write this fic so I really am looking forward to sharing it with everyone. And it's going to be a much longer chapter.
> 
> Sorry this chapter was a little short and took an extra few days to come out. I’m finishing up an old job and starting a new one so things have been busy. 
> 
> Don’t forget to comment and let me know what you think so far!

**Author's Note:**

> If you are interested in following me on tumblr: [ maydaygirl-save-our-ships.](http://maydaygirl-save-our-ships.tumblr.com/)  
> I'll have updates on my tumblr and I'm always down to chat!


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